Knaven out of Omloop

Servais Knaven will not be able to race the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad on Saturday or Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne on Sunday due to a cold. Knaven was specifically hired by Milram for his experience in the Classics and his role was to guide Gerald Ciolek to victory.

"This is a big loss for our team," said Milram's General Manager Gerry van Gerwen. "Servais Knaven is the centre of the Classics team. He knows all the routes and his job was to navigate the riders with chance of victory to the optimal positions at the right moment." Despite Knaven unable to race, Van Gerwen was not giving up. "We still have a strong team that won't be hiding."

Knaven thought he was over the cold. "But Wednesday things got worse again. I am running a fever and I am pretty weak." Knaven was quite disappointed, but reason prevailed. "It does not make any sense to race like that. It is a pity, we are all highly motivated and it is the first big Belgian race weekend of the season."